The Wisdom Within

By Suzette Scholtes

Feeling Down? Look Around!

A temple is a place of worship to a devoted believer, an artistic monument
to a tourist, a place of solicitation to a beggar, and even a place of
ridicule to the atheist. The existence of an object cannot depend solely
on any one person’s observation. The river does not stop flowing
because no one is looking at it.

-T.K.V. Desikachar, The Heart of Yoga

One of my challenges as a yoga teacher is interpreting the complex
yet valuable knowledge of the yoga sutras so I may share ideas with students
with ease and understanding. Desikachar’s comment about perspective
inspires me to reflect more…a good habit to create in 2008. We “look” around “inside” ourselves.

For example, I received news last month that a project I hoped to complete
was canceled. I felt let down as my expectation was high. This situation
where an “outside event” through me a curve bothered me,
so I sat with it. Now an outside event such as a family member’s
illness or death is a different situation. There are no cookie cutter
approaches to the intricacy of being human!

As I reflected and pulled back to “enlarge my perspective,” soon
I recognized my own self pity. Poor-little-ole-me not getting what she
wanted on her time table and my negative ego pounced on that in its covert
way, leaving me unhappy. So in meditation I invited love into my heart
and asked for self forgiveness for getting caught up in the currents
of life once again. By changing my perspective, in a short time, the
energy changed from unhappy to content…..from confused to clear.
Best of all my negative ego had no power over me. We can’t feel
sorry for ourselves and love at the same time. We can’t be in self
pity and love at the same time. We can’t be controlling and love
at the same time. And so on.

The yogis write about “ahisma” or non-violence which translates
into causing no harm to oneself or another living being. Non-violence
in mental, emotional or physical energies is a respect for others. It’s
a state of mind.

“Do you find sometimes you are hard on yourself and put yourself
down?” writes Jon Kabat-Zinn in his book Wherever You Go There
You Are. “Do you talk of others behind their backs or do you push
yourself too hard beyond limit?” This is “ahisma,” he
writes.

One of my favorite teachers, Judith Hanson Lasater, shares on her website
the same focus she taught us last fall. She writes: When I say silently
to myself, “How human of me to react with fear, or anger, or disappointment.” Then
there is space for compassion to arise. And I like how that feels. Then
I am in peace and in the present moment, she comments.

Maybe the next time you feel irritable or are “having a bad day” take
a moment to get quiet and breathe into your center. With quiet reflection,
maybe you will gain new insight. Wisdom, in part, is seeing the bigger
picture!

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Suzette Scholtes shares yoga philosophy each week at The Yoga Studio
of Johnson County where she is founder and director of teacher training.
Learn to deepen quality of life by touching your inner resources for
more health and happiness. (9l3) 492-9594.